Author's Note: Due to a freak USB Drive accident, my previous Chapter 2 part is unobtainable for the time being and therefore, editing it for anything my... editor mentioned is impossible. I give extended thanks to my readers and reviewers and am glad to say that I'm pretty much doing a Chapter trade with another Author... who is also my editor. Keep reading the Pinkie-Verse for it's diabetes-evading Pink Pony's many zany adventures with other Pink Pony's. Huzzah!

Special thanks to Bellum_Civille as my Editor. Be sure to check out his stories, including the Pinkie-Verse.

Chapter 2:3:

Golden Pie and Spectral Trust

"By kick his butt, you mean literally? Because he's only about 100 yards away... and I can fly faster than... well, everybody." Rainbow said as she and Applejack trotted away from ground zero.

"Wha? No, I mean... competition, 'n stuff." Applejack said, wiping her tears away as she found new motivation.

"Oh..." Rainbow sighed in disappointment. "I was looking forward to whipping his tail. I mean, I can't believe he talked to you like that or... hay, I can't believe he could talk to anybody like that." Rainbow said as she kept looking over her shoulder towards the cafe.

"Well, he jus' seems extra snooty this year as if he already has th' prize. Doesn't help he's won it th' past five years..." Applejack said, rolling her slightly red eyes.

They trotted through the crowds, walking around the various ponies, and griffons, and other miscellaneous things. They walked in mostly silence, Applejack humming to herself now and then in a meagre attempt to distract herself. Rainbow was concerned for Applejack but decided it would be best to not prod the memory any further.

After a few minutes of walking, they came to a large, fenced off clearing with a building there. The fence was high enough to stop most pets from entering the grounds and a security guard walked around now and then to shoo off any creatures that manage to get by. Visible through the fence were various Ponies walking the grounds. Applejack and Rainbow walked to the building's doors. Rainbow took note of the Market Harvest main building being stylized like a giant breadbasket, similar to how Sugarcube Corner looks like a giant gingerbread house. They walked to the front doors, Applejack stopping Rainbow with a hoof. Applejack then quickly adjusted her hat, did a quick stretch, let out a long sigh, and then she smiled confidently. Rainbow merely waited as patiently as possible (to Rainbow, not at all) before Applejack spoke.

"Let's go." she said before pushing the doors open and walking in.

Not even in the building and Rainbow's nose was attacked by the scent of freshly baked bread. Once she entered, the scent began to vary; turn her head one way and she smelt fresh soup, turn it another and she smelt buttery corn. Her stomach rumbled as the various scents registered in her brain; everything here was fresh and... wait, why was there a scent? Applejack seemed to read her mind, because she answered.

"E'erybody now an then on their trips here decide to bake fer a bit while gettin' a general opinion from others, and that's a great thing." Applejack said as she took a big whiff of the area. The scent was absolute heaven to her.

Rainbow cocked her head in confusion as she looked around the area. She pondered something, not noticing the drool that started to come out. When she did, she quickly wiped it away with her hoof.

"Gets ya hungry, doesn't it?" Applejack said as she looked at Rainbow, noticing something the rainbow Pegasus didn't; Rainbow was staring around with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Rainbow ignored the question to ask another. "Well, how is that a good thing? I mean, letting the competition taste test?" Rainbow asked as Applejack trotted to a desk, Rainbow following.

It was then when Rainbow realized how many people were in the lobby. There were a good amount of ponies there, enough for a normal party. Rainbow observed the many others there as they talked, conversed and laughed, obviously being buddy-buddy.

"Well, as ya can see," Applejack stepped into a small line in front of the desk. "everybody gets along. Not like you an I, what with our bickerin', and constant arguin', everybody understands we all give our hardest t' win and there is general respect with everybody." Applejack paused, letting out an annoyed sigh. "... 'cept Fullbody an his snooty ptootie bunch o' raisins." Applejack said, snickering at her own comment. Rainbow snickered too. They both took a few steps forward as the person in front finally left.

Rainbow smiled at the thought. Rivals getting along like that. Even if Rainbow and Applejack often argue and bicker over the most tedious things, they did have pretty much a slap/high-five relationship with each other but, getting along with her rival in such a happy manner sounded great.

"I kinda wish we were like that, Apples." Rainbow said, chuckling at the memories of their various competitions.

Applejack thought about it for a second before letting out a giggle at the thought. Eventually, she stopped and looked over at Rainbow.

"Well, if somepony kept her ego at bay..." Applejack smiled.

"I would if somepony kept her hooves on the ground." Rainbow retorted with a small laugh.

Applejack narrowed her eyes, retaining her smile. "Ah wouldn't if somepony pulled her head outta th' clouds."

Rainbow and Applejack glared at each other, daring the other person to step back. After a few seconds, both broke out in a small chuckle.

"Heh, we're too competitive t' properly have a relationship like that." Applejack said as she took a step forward, one more person in the way.

"... yeah... too bad." Rainbow said, trailing off.

"That can be fixed... all I have to do is pay off my end of the barter." Rainbow thought to herself, giggling away.

Applejack shot Rainbow a look of confusion at Rainbow's oddly out of character giggling before realizing somebody was calling her.

"Miss Applejack, you're next."

Applejack looked at the desk before approaching. "Oh, sorry Miss R."

The mare at the desk was named Blackberry Brown, but everypony called her Miss R. R is an abbreviation of 'raspberry' due to her obsession over raspberries despite her name.

"That's alright. I take it you're here for your weekly checkup?" Miss R said as she looked through sign in folders.

"Yes ma'am. Ah also brought one o' my friends who'll be joinin' Sweet Apple Acres fer the contest." Applejack said as she glanced over at Rainbow whom waved.

Miss R smiled. "Well alright. I just need you two to sign in for Sweet Apple Acres and you're good to go." she said, pushing an open folder on the clearing of the desk.

"Ah gotcha." Applejack said, picking up a pencil as she signed her name.

Applejack handed Rainbow the pencil who awkwardly grabbed it between her teeth from Applejack's mouth. Turns out, it was awkward for both as both had a light blush. Rainbow ignored it and walked to the desk. She saw Big Macintosh and Applejack's names written many times including sign in and out dates plus their times and an odd comment such as "missing a few apples; critters are getting through" or "not enough water". She signed in in the small guest box below. She spit out the pencil and quickly licked her lips.

"All done." Rainbow said as she took a step back.

"Thank you." Miss R said as she grabbed the folder, closing it as she did and placed it back into a drawer. "Have a nice day." she said as Applejack waved back.

"You too, ma'am." Applejack said.

Rainbow merely nodded and followed as Applejack stepped out of line and towards a double door. Applejack pushed the doors open and Rainbow got a full view of the contest grounds. There were individual fenced off areas for each team and the sign of the team; Rich Strawberry Fields, Grand Dairy Facilities, Fullbody Wine and Grapes, Sweet Apple Acres, there were too many to name and it stretched out passed the horizon; wide fields, grounds, buildings... but Rainbow spotted their reason for being here: Sweet Apple Acres land... Sweet Apple Acre. It was far off but Rainbow recognized that blotch of colours as the sign for her friend's farm.

Having walked through the fields, they arrived at the Sweet Apple Acre and like the other open fields, they had a small picket fence just to show the borders and walkways between each farm's crop area. The farms and facilities with the hardest harvesting were closer to the main building as during the competition itself, everypony stays at the front, waiting for the cannon to signal the start before rushing to their grounds for the week long event. Rainbow looked at the trees planted, each grown and tended to perfection and off to the side, a suspicious set of trees with nothing on them...

"Here's where we'll be harvestin'. Where ya will be transferin' th' goods is... well, ya get a tour of the grounds before the start fer new members. That'll be where all farms 'n facilities send their crop where it is then organized and documented before sellin'." Applejack said as she trotted through the perfectly planted tree orchard, Rainbow following wide-eyed at the site of the perfect condition of the trees.

"Nifty. Let's do what we came here to do and then..." she paused. "eat. We kinda forgot to eat due to Fathead Moneysack or whatever that pony's name was." Rainbow said, a disgusted tone appearing in her voice as she thought of the rude pony.

Applejack chuckled. "Heh, we could always buck a few apples down an make somethin' in th' kitchen here." Applejack said as she got close to the trees to inspect them.

Rainbow nodded. "Sounds good. Have fun baking." Rainbow joked as she looked at the surrounding area. Sweet Apple Acre was in the middle row of land, 3-8th's of the way away from the main building. They were on the flat area of the competition grounds. The grounds themselves had a slight raise near the end where most of the factories and facilities were built for processing and packaging their products. The grounds were, to Rainbow, at least 8 km long... that was a seriously long distance for ponies to walk to. Most had something such as a scooter or bike to arrive at their land but others had to rely on physical ability.

"Heh, s'alright. Ya can be my taste tester along with me. No bakin' on yer end 'cause ah am not as hungry as ya." Applejack said as she examined the leaves and branches of the trees. "But at th' moment, can ya fly up an check the top of the trees?" Applejack asked as she studied the Rainbow pony's wings.

Rainbow looked up at the trees and looked around. "How do I tell if they're... fine, or whatever?" she asked, giving her wings a quick flutter before hovering off the ground.

"Jus' check fer the redness of the apples." Applejack said as she pulled out a small clipboard from her saddlebags and put it down to write.

"On it." Rainbow said as she floated higher, above the trees. She looked down at the apples harder to see from the ground. Looking at the ones near the top, the tree Applejack and her were inspecting was perfect from the looks of it. "Apples bright and shiny up here, Applejack." Rainbow said.

"A'ight." Applejack said, writing something down before moving to the next tree.

The next half hour proceeded like this. Now and then, Rainbow would see some apples lacking colour or containing a worm. Rainbow's hunger steadily grew as the minutes passed. Her tongue was teased by the sweet flavour whenever she picked off an apple, rotten or of the like. After a while, they finally came to the last tree, a basket already placed. Rainbow gave Applejack a nod, not spotting any sour apples on this tree.

"Alright, Rainbow. C'mon down here. Ah need a favour." Applejack said as she picked up the clipboard and put it in her saddlebags.

Rainbow nodded and fluttered to the ground (AN: God I love the word 'flutter'.) Landing next to Applejack, she let her wings rest. "So what's the favour, Applejack?" Rainbow asked as Applejack trotted over to Rainbow.

"Buck the tree nice an lightly." Applejack said with a smirk.

Rainbow looked back and forth between Applejack and the tree. "What, you sprain an ankle?" Rainbow asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Naw, we jus' make it a bit of a tradition t' buck the last tree we inspect and ah figured t' let ya do it this time." Applejack said. "We make our dinner usually with it. Ah figured we could'a made some dessert since we were supposed t' eat at the cafe but... heh, guess we're settlin' fer apples." Applejack said.

Rainbow's eyes widened and she felt a smile escaping on her face. "Wow... thank you. I don't know what to say." Rainbow said as she examined Applejack. She realized the sunset giving Applejack a magnificent atmosphere around her. The glow gave Applejack's already golden appearance a now fiery appearance. She felt a blush coming as she admired the appearance Applejack had at the moment.

"How 'bout 'you're the greatest, Apples'." Applejack said doing a quick mock up of Rainbow's voice.

Rainbow let out a light chuckle. "Hey, don't get too ahead of yourself there." Rainbow said as she approached the tree.

She looked at it up and down before sighing. She spun around 180 degrees, leaned on her forelegs, and gave the tree a light buck. The buck vibrated through her body, letting her know her buck hit home and she felt the tree itself shaking with the force as she heard the apples fall down into a small basket set by the tree.

"Perfect buck there, sugarcube." Applejack said as she approached the basket the apples fell into.

Rainbow mentally congratulated herself and felt the blush coming back. "Thanks, Applejack. Let's go and make something great with these." Rainbow said as she took a proud stance.

The two ponies walked back to the Market Harvest main building. Rainbow didn't know the name of the building yet. Arriving, they immediately walked into the kitchen. Applejack then walked over to the specially marked Sweet Apple Acre area. The kitchen itself had many scents and noises as there were several farms and facilities there making things with their products. Applejack was glad she entered when she did because...

"I can't believe you're here." came Moneybag's voice in the lobby.

Rainbow glared off towards the doors. "Grr, we better beat him. But..." Rainbow trailed off.

Applejack let out a built up sigh. "Why can't that guy jus' understan' that he won, didn' gain immortality or somethin' like immunity to the law." Applejack said, gritting her teeth as she reached into a draw on their counter.

Rainbow looked at the apples as she poured them into a strainer before placing the basket on the ground, strainer in the sink and turned the tap on.

"We're just going to have to knock him off his high saddle." Rainbow said confidently as she turned the tap on.

Applejack's smile returned, brow bent giving her a devious smile. "Yer our winnin' ticket, RD. Y'all deserve the prize more than the rest o' us." Applejack said as she watched Rainbow rinse the apples.

"Heh, of course I do. I am Rainbow Dash, most awesome Pegasus ever." Rainbow said smugly, not noticing the apples probably had enough water.

Applejack frowned for a second before chuckling. "Whatever float's yer cloud, RD." Applejack said, turning the tap off for Rainbow.

Rainbow glanced down at the apple, letting out a small giggle. She turned the faucet away, pulling out the strainer full of apples. She dumped them out over the counter.

"So, what're we making?" Rainbow asked as she examined each apple between her hooves.

"How does plain ol' apple pie sound? Apple pie and..." she paused. "apple peanut butter?" she wondered.

Rainbow couldn't help but laugh at that. "The great kitchen of taste testing new apple treats and you go for the basics?" Rainbow said, leaning on the counter.

Applejack smiled. "Well, ah am drawin' a blank fer what t' make." Applejack said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Apple family sure placed their soul in the best pony." Rainbow teased.

"Well, ah haven't won a Market Harvest." Applejack said, loosing her smile in favour of a more solemn look.

Rainbow's smile faded. "Oh, I'm sorry Applejack. I wasn't thinking. Let's just... uh," she paused. "we ca-" a hoof to the mouth silenced her.

"No no, ah understand. Let's just make some food." Applejack said, shaking her head as she examined the apples.

Some time later, after the peeling and cutting and mixing and baking, their pie was done. Applejack pulled it out of the oven and placed the steaming hot pie on the counter. The scent was godly; the perfect aroma of apples, cinnamon and crust being baked to perfection. The look and shape was perfect, the steam only enhanced the sheer look of perfection the pie had. Rainbow stared at it with lustful eyes as if she hadn't eaten in weeks. Applejack seemingly didn't care much as she quickly moved to the next item.

"Is it just me or is this the greatest pie ever?" Rainbow said as she stared at it.

The scent overpowered the scents of other foods in the kitchen that had long since been finished preparation. Others looked, attracted to the smell of the pie. The pie was large enough for every pony still in the room and this was not lost on Applejack.

"Everypony in th' room, feel free t' taste our pie. There's enough fer everypony." Applejack said as she quickly grabbed a knife and began cutting the pie into equal slices.

Others in the room put no second thought in as they walked over towards Sweet Apple Acre's bench.

"Sweet Apple Acres' always has the best pie." a green filly pegasus pony bearing a large olive over top a salad for a cutie mark.

"Why thank ya, Sweet Olive." Applejack said as she quickly grabbed a stack of plates out from the cupboard above.

Placing it down, the few ponies in the room let Applejack dish out the pie equally. Rainbow stared at her pie and held back from eating it; allowing her to drool over it, teased by the temptation would only make devouring this piece of golden brown apple goodness all the more better. Everybody else had begun eating the warm apple pie slices. Sweet Olive trotted over to Applejack.

"This is great stuff, better than I remember." she spoke with an Italian accent.

"Heh, thank ya. Sweet Olive, how's yer salad comin' along?" Applejack asked, taking a bite of her pie, humming as she ate the warm pie.

"Marvellous, dear. Business is good, how about yours?" Sweet Olive asked as she finished up her slice of pie.

"Jus' fine. Ah hope that with mah new team, Sweet Apple Acres'll win this year and show Fullbody who's boss." Applejack said as she took another bite of her pie.

Meanwhile, Rainbow was still staring at her pie. Her eyes had soon lost the ability to change their direction, her mouth unable to prevent drooling, her nose being brutally assaulted by the apple-cinnamon aroma of the pie. She licked her lips.

"It's time." Rainbow said quietly to herself.

She picked up the pie with her hoof and took a large bite. She felt the world vanish as she chewed the pie up. The taste of cinnamon, apple and the warm, brown crust overtook her taste buds. It slid down her throat with ease when she swallowed it. Rainbow closed her eyes. Applejack entered her mind as she chewed the apple pie. The thoughts brought on by the scent of the pie reminding her of the past few days, working alongside Applejack on the farm. A warm, not from the pie, filled her mind and chest and she felt a giggle escape as she bit into her pie once more.

"S'all good, Rainbow?" Applejack's voice rung out.

Rainbow's eyes shot open as she spotted Applejack. Again, she noticed the sun's glow through the window. Applejack had that fiery golden glow about her once more as it shone on her right side. The warmth was too much and Rainbow' face turned deep red. She chewed the pie slowly, swallowing it after a while.

"You're a great friend, Applejack. Today was great." Rainbow said, trying to look away as if looking at Applejack too much would make her cease to exist.

Applejack couldn't notice Rainbow's blush due to the sun's brilliant glow. Rainbow merely bit into her last piece of pie, slowly chewing it. Applejack's smile may be even warmer than the sun beating down on the left side of her face.

"Thank ya, sugarcube. What's say we clean up an head on home. Dunno if ya heard but Twi made another schedule." Applejack said as she rolled her eyes with a smile.

Rainbow swallowed her pie, a slight glare on her face. "I heard nothing about a schedule change." Rainbow sighed.

"Y'all are modelin' t'morrow fer some photos with Fluttershy." Applejack said.

Rainbow's eyes widened. "Model?"

Applejack nodded. "Yup. After, y'all will be joinin' Fluttershy an Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner sellin' some goods there." Applejack said as she waved goodbye to the ponies whom enjoyed the apple pie. "After that, supposedly, ya will be pullin' a banner fer Sugarcube Corner t' practice fer the competition." Applejack said as she picked up the pan and knife, placing it into the sink. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Jeez, Twilight just cannot make up her mind... I wish she would just find a schedule and stick with it." Rainbow said as she helped Applejack clean up by wiping down the countertop.

Applejack smiled. "T'morrow night however, on our unofficial schedule, we got somethin' else t' do." she said as she washed the dished in the sink.

"Ah, jeez, my schedule is getting more busy." Rainbow said as she finished wiping down the table with a cloth.

"We're..." Applejack paused. "y'know what, ah'll tell ya when we get back t' Ponyville."

Later that day, Applejack and Rainbow boarded the train back to Ponyville. The train had much more ponies than it did earlier, ponies returning home obviously. Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked back to the booth they sat in before. It was empty and the car they were in wasn't filled totally. They sat down and quickly adjusted their sitting position.

"We arrive home at aroun' 9:15." Applejack said as she looked outside, the sun gone and the sky a light blue as the first stars began to show themselves.

"Darn. We have nothing to do until then." Rainbow said as she leaned back in her usual lazing position.

"Well, we could always play che-" As soon as Applejack began saying that, Rainbow sat up instantly and started speaking loudly. "SO HOW ABOUT THAT APPLE SPECTRUM!" Rainbow blurted out, trying to ignore their earlier chess game. Applejack was taken aback slightly but pushed it aside.

"Well, th' photos have t' be taken first before we really make any posters, 'n such." Applejack said. "Rarity's making plans fer photo shoots." Applejack said as she removed her saddlebags, placing them on the seat next to her.

"Huhn, understandable but, well..." she trailed off, thinking. "I should probably ask Fluttershy for tips on what to do for modelling." Rainbow thought as she sighed, sliding down on her bench.

Applejack shook her head. "Wrong pony by a long shot. Ah mean, she was a model but, well," Applejack thought of the word. "jus' don't. Ask Rarity."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Well alright then. So, um, you wanna talk or something?" Rainbow suggested.

"Sure, ya got a topic?" Applejack asked as she leaned back.

"All who are coming aboard, come aboard. All who are getting off, get off." the conductor said.

Applejack and Rainbow waited patiently as a few seconds passed and ponies said their goodbyes, the train started and motion began. After a few seconds, they were out of the station and roaring towards the next two stops of MacTier and Trottingham. Finally, Rainbow spoke up.

"About that massage you are totally giving me, what say you I give you a massage too? Not part of the barter but, just a friendly favour." Rainbow offered as she leaned back into the corner of the booth.

Applejack chuckled. "Well okay. Don't make it as good as mine however good it is." Applejack said as she examined her hoof for a second.

Rainbow thought for a second as she stared at Applejack. The lights in the train car were giving the room the perfect illumination.

"Well anyways, when we get back to Ponyville, do you mind if I stay at your place?" Rainbow asked.

Applejack stared at Rainbow in surprise. She thought before opening her mouth. "Whyzzat?" she asked.

Rainbow let out a blush at the odd implication.

"Err, I just want to get up same as you do to get used to the schedule and all." Rainbow said, fidgeting with her hooves.

"Wow, Rainbow. You're really gettin' into this whole thing." Applejack said as she smiled widely.

"I just want to make you happy by winning this thing. As you say, hard work will always be rewarded, not should be rewarded because in the end, people like Fullbody win and then what was that hard work for?" Rainbow said with a fiery determination in her eyes as she sat up and stared directly at Applejack.

Applejack stared at Rainbow, a blush appearing on her face.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. Ah can't thank you enough. Sure, ya can stay at my place. We don't have no guest room so ya'll have t' make do with a rollaway bed." Applejack said. "Ah'll fix ya up a spot in mah room, ya jus' need t' get what ya need from yer house." Applejack said as she smiled, her blush glowing ever so brightly.

Rainbow had a large blush on her face as well, a warmth growing in her chest. "We'll win this thing as a team for Sweet Apple Acres... and I'll win this for you. I'm still confused about that trust thingy but for now, I can give you my word, my current idea of trust: we will win and we will not lose to some sack of greed with no respect for his competition." Rainbow stood up, several ponies from other booths starting to stare. Applejack's mouth was still in a smile, her eyes staring at Rainbow.

"I'll fly my best if you buck your best. I'll be your wings, and with wings, you'll be the one looking down on Fullhead Moneysaddle or whatever in the end." Rainbow raised her head and took a big breath.

"Under the awesome name of Rainbow Dash, I swear that Fullmedal will lose, and the Apple Spectrum will see to that."

Author's Notes: MOAR MOTIVATION! Fullbody Moneybag's will be knocked off his literal/metaphorical high horse, says Rainbow Dash, chock full of enough determination to tear through the forces of Discorded Chaos an-wait, that didn't really work last time... never mind then, Sweet Apple Acres is doomed. *trollface*

So yeah. Still accepting ideas and if anybody wants, I also don't mind a guest chapter or two; anything to show what everybody else has done during the various bonding occurring between the characters such as what everybody was doing while Rainbow and Applejack went to Troronto.

Special thanks to Civille/Bellum_Civille as my editor, Feanor Noldor and Triforce of the Gods for their inspirational reviews, and the pre-readers of Equestria Daily for rejecting my sto-wait, what? Oh, yeah... *ahem* for rejecting my story and suggesting various sites for proof-reading. Always room for improvement, eh? Please continue to read the Apple Spectrum and support my fight for everlasting peace (because we all know Mega Man never achieves this... ever).